LOS ANGELES – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), released the following statement in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 11-to-10 vote to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate:
“Today’s majority vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court demonstrates profound contempt for fairness, for gender equity, and for the American people. Kavanaugh has not ‘earned’ appointment to the Supreme Court any more than a large number of others with equivalent qualifications, and the majority’s insistence upon his confirmation without a thorough investigation of numerous credible allegations of sexual assault serves nothing but a wholly false notion that Kavanaugh somehow deserves a rush to confirmation. Donald Trump could select for this post one of literally dozens of others with conservative credentials who do not have the considerable cloud hanging over them that Kavanaugh does. The committee majority voted to send someone to the Court who demonstrated disqualifying arrogance and entitlement in response to serious and credible charges. They voted to confirm someone who will be forever subject to potential impeachment and removal if a thorough investigation is ever completed that finds convincing evidence that he lied to Congress. They voted to confirm someone who will forever be suspect as a justice, which would limit, in ways large and small, his ability to engage fully on the important legal issues before the Court.
“In short, there is no logical or compelling reason to confirm Kavanaugh at this time. A vote at this time, absent a complete exonerating investigation, is simply a manifestation of contempt for decency and for the American people who expect that of congressional leadership. Elected officials who demonstrate such contempt will pay a political price, and the public often exacts that price in short order. MALDEF urges the full Senate to eschew the contempt shown by the committee majority, and to reject the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to be, in practice, at best a half-justice of the Supreme Court.”